If you’re hiding cash, diamonds, or other valuables underneath your mattress, start looking for a new hiding place, especially if you’re in Greece. According to Zerohedge, the Greek government has created a new electronic system called Taxisnet. If you have more than €15,000 in cash in your home, or gemstones or jewellery, and gold valuing more than €30,000, you must declare it and have your ownership noted in the Taxisnet system.
Hmmn
It’s not outright confiscation of wealth. Or the banning of cash. Not yet. But what is the purpose of ‘asset declaration’ if not to eventually seize or tax assets that are held ‘illegally.’ On the road to a wealth tax, the first step is to establish who owns what.
No word yet on the penalty for non-compliance with the law. But even that tells you something. If it’s a law, and you don’t file your 56-page asset declaration, or you withhold information about the extent and value of your assets, you’re a criminal. You’re a criminal because you own assets—perfectly legal assets for now—which you did not declare to the state.
Still think the war on cash is a joke? Earlier this week I shared some research with Charlie Morris on the creation of state-backed digital money. You’ll see some of that next week. But the idea is same. Blockchain technology employed by the state allows a precise record of who owns what. From there, seizing assets is probably just a matter of process/technology/time.
Category: Central Banks